California couple’s $1M cannabis-related fines cleared five years after buying their home

cannabisRepresentative image When Corrine and Doug Thomas bought a property in Humboldt County, California, in 2021, they expected to take ownership of a home and land. Instead, they inherited a legal dispute connected to the previous owner’s alleged cannabis operation. County officials sought more than $1 million in penalties against the couple, along with roughly $200,000 to demolish a barn where cannabis had reportedly been grown. Five years later, a settlement has withdrawn the disputed notices, fines and fees. The Institute for Justice said the agreement also requires Humboldt County to reform its code enforcement process. Court records available through Justia show that the case challenged how the county imposed cannabis-related penalties on property owners who disputed the alleged violations.A home purchase followed by a huge billThe Thomases’ ordeal began after they purchased the property in 2021. According to the Institute for Justice, Humboldt County treated conditions linked to the previous owner’s cannabis activity as violations that continued to affect the property after the sale. The couple said they had not committed the alleged violations and were not responsible fo...